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Biden gave Trump new mission on border security and immigration, expert says

Much of President Donald Trump’s immigration and border security agenda has been driven by the actions of former President Joe Biden, causing Trump to take even more steps during his second term in the White House.

“What Biden did, I’d say, is the primary cause of the open borders and the millions he led in, including the bad actors who came along with them,” Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital. “It requires quick and drastic steps to stop the flow and find those people and get them out of the country.”

The comments come as Trump has unleashed a slew of new orders related to immigration and border security during his first two weeks in office, introducing new ideas such as seeking to end birthright citizenship.

According to Ries, many of Trump’s early actions on immigration were aimed at returning to the policies of his first administration. Others, Ries said, were a direct reaction to policies implemented during the previous administration.

TRUMP ADMIN ENDS DEPORTATION PROTECTIONS FOR MASSIVE NUMBER OF VENEZUELANS AMID ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

President Trump quickly moved to end mass parole and suspend a refugee admissions program shortly after returning to the Oval Office. (Getty Images)

“Ending mass parole, ending the CBP mobile one application,” Ries used as an example, two policies implemented under Biden that Trump quickly ended upon reentering the White House.

But Ries also argued that Trump has taken a more aggressive approach to the issue than he did when entering office in 2017, noting that some of the orders were not tried in 2017 or are a reaction to a Biden policy.

“Suspending the U.S. refugee admissions program, birthright citizenship… creating a Homeland Security task force in all 50 states for intel and logistics,” Ries listed as examples of new ideas brought by Trump in his second term in office.

Ries also noted that Trump took the step of requiring all aliens to register, something allowed under current immigration statutes that will likely help with enforcement.

“We have no idea who is all here, how many people… so requiring them to register with DHS is a smart move,” Ries said.

President Donald Trump’s second administration has more decisive executive actions on immigration than his first term’s early days in part because many are responding to Biden administration actions, an expert tells Fox. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT URGES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN US TO RETURN HOME DAYS AFTER DIPLOMATIC SPAT

Yet there is still more work for Trump to do as he continues his push for reform, Ries argued, including pausing funds for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from the Department of Health and Human Services and the State Department.

Ries also mentioned that Trump could still work to clear the backlog of immigration cases at the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department, where over 13 million combined cases are pending.

“Getting those down to a manageable level year after year, and I had proposed in a report I put out in December that if the backlog gets too high, pausing intake of applications until the backlog gets down to a manageable level.”

Migrants are apprehended near the border wall in New Mexico in April 2024. (Fox News)

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“Then the other still needed is more on the unaccompanied alien children front. I think he could declare an emergency regarding the missing children and the sex trafficking,” Ries added. “Working to find those kids, but also pursuing the first part of the law that says it should be the policy to return children back to their home country versus bringing them in and giving them immigration benefits.”

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But Ries also noted there are limitations to what Trump can do through executive action, arguing that Congress will need to “step in” on some issues.

“Congress needs to very quickly, drastically fund increased resources for ICE to continue detaining… ICE needs at least 100,000 beds,” Ries said. “Congress also needs to close all the loopholes that the Biden administration exploited if we want long-term integrity around this. Otherwise, the next Democrat president will issue executive orders to undo all this.”

Michael Lee is a writer for Fox News. Prior to joining Fox News, Michael worked for the Washington Examiner, Bongino.com, and Unbiased America. He has covered politics for more than eight years.

February 3, 2025
Trump budget bill could miss key deadline amid House GOP infighting

House Republicans’ plan for a massive conservative policy overhaul via the budget reconciliation process is expected to miss a key deadline this week, throwing a wrench in the GOP’s ambitious schedule for swiftly enacting President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., previously told reporters that House Republicans were aiming to advance their bill out of committee this week.

But Republican hardliners on the House Budget Committee balked at GOP leaders’ initial proposal for spending cuts late last week, multiple people told Fox News Digital, pushing for a steeper starting point in negotiations with the Senate.

“The budget resolution is almost certainly not going to move through committee this week,” one Budget Committee source told Fox News Digital. “Frankly, what was put forward by leadership at the retreat was so far off the mark – literally increasing deficits even further.”

TRUMP ADMIN HITS BACK AS ACLU LAUNCHES LAWSUIT ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: ‘READY TO FACE THEM’

Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing House Republicans to enact President Trump’s policies through the reconciliation process. (Getty Images)

A senior House GOP aide said it was “extremely unlikely” for the resolution to pass through committee this week.

Meanwhile, the national debt continues to climb past the $36 trillion mark, with the U.S. deficit currently running over $710 billion for this fiscal year.

House Republicans huddled at Trump National Doral golf course and resort for three days last week, where committee chairs detailed possible avenues to pursue spending cuts.

Senate and House Republicans hope to use their majorities to pass a broad range of Trump’s agenda items through reconciliation. By lowering the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to 51, it will allow Republicans to bypass Democrats and enact sweeping policy changes – provided they are linked to the budget and other fiscal matters.

But to do that, the House Budget Committee will need to pass a budget resolution that will include specific instructions for various other committees under policies of their jurisdiction.

Conservatives have demanded that the final product of the process be deficit-neutral, if not deficit-reducing – something Johnson promised last week.

Republicans talked reconciliation at the Trump National Doral Miami golf club last week. (Reuters/Zachary Fagenson)

Johnson said the guidelines for spending cuts would be a “floor” rather than a “ceiling,” giving lawmakers more flexibility to find more savings.

But Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a House Freedom Caucus member who sits on the budget panel, argued that those cuts likely will not extend much past their stated “floors.”

“I guess they want to get the resolution out. I do, too. I want to get it out of committee, have an up or down vote. But if you set that floor too low, that’s all that’s going to be achieved,” Norman said. “I have no confidence that they would exceed whatever level we put in there.”

Norman said leaders’ initial offer amounted to roughly $300 billion as a floor for spending cuts, but that it also included $325 billion in new spending, but “does not include interest.”

The Budget Committee source who spoke with Fox News Digital said the offer was raised to roughly $900 billion in spending cuts with roughly $300 billion in new spending on border security and defense.

The source said it was “building in the right direction” but still “woefully inadequate.”

Norman suggested he wanted the starting point raised to $2 to $3 trillion.

“Anything less than that is really sending the signal that we’re just not serious about it,” he said.

Norman is one of several Freedom Caucus members on the House Budget Committee who could potentially tank the bill, considering it’s virtually unlikely to get Democratic support.

TRUMP’S HOUSE GOP ALLIES PUSH BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP BILL AFTER PROGRESSIVE FURY AT PRESIDENTIAL ORDER

Rep. Ralph Norman said he wanted to see at least $1.3 trillion more in spending cuts than GOP leaders’ latest offer. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

But steeper spending cuts could also risk rankling Republicans in districts that depend on whatever funding goes on the chopping block.

Democrats have used Republicans’ pursuit of deep spending cuts as a cudgel, accusing them of wanting to gut Social Security and Medicare. GOP leaders have denied eyeing those benefits.

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., another Freedom Caucus member on the budget panel, said he was optimistic but that there were “a lot of conversations about starting the process from the most conservative position possible.”

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“The Senate is not as interested in fiscal responsibility, so we recognize the need to set parameters for authorizing committees that encourage that… from the beginning,” Cline said.

Johnson said he wanted the bill through committee this week for a goal of passing an initial House version by the end of February.

Congressional leaders hope to have passed a reconciliation bill by May.

The speaker said on “Fox & Friends” Monday morning of reconciliation talks, “Republicans are working right now to negotiate what that looks like. We don’t want to blow a hole in the deficit by extending the Trump-era tax cuts, for example, but we’re definitely going to get that extended. So we got to find those savings.”

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to [email protected]

February 3, 2025
Counter-drug sea drones utilized by Navy as Trump ramps up military resources at the border

Unmanned sea drones are on the prowl to interdict drug smugglers in America’s waters as part of a new Navy operation.

The operation will test the Navy’s use of maritime drones, in its early stages, and apply lessons learned to missions all across the globe.

Dubbed Operation Southern Spear, the Navy’s 4th Fleet will use “a heterogeneous mix of Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) to support the detection and monitoring of illicit trafficking while learning lessons for other theaters,” a news release said on Monday.

DEMOCRATS PRESS ARMY SECRETARY NOMINEE IF ‘READINESS’ AFFECTED BY SOUTHERN BORDER DEPLOYMENTS

Saildrone Voyagers SD-2040 and SD-2041 equipped with 200W radars in the Caribbean Sea. (MediaValet)

As President Donald Trump shuts down the U.S. southern and northern borders, smugglers are expected to look for alternative routes to carry out their illegal trafficking business. Human and drug trafficking cartels have increasingly turned to the nation’s maritime borders to smuggle weapons, narcotics and people into the country.

According to recent data, more illicit drugs were seized at sea by Customs and Border Patrol’s Air and Marine Operation (AMO) in 2023 – 304,000 pounds – than by land – 241,000 pounds.

Southern Spear will operate as part of Joint Task Force South – a Defense Department task force made up of Navy, Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection, as well as 20 partner countries focused on counter-narcotics and maritime security in the Carribean, Central and South America.

TRUMP THREATENS TO TAP ALLIES FOR MILITARY SHIPBUILDING IF US CAN’T PRODUCE

Soldiers assigned to the 192nd Quartermaster Company from Milan, Ohio, monitor the southern border near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, Jan. 28, 2025. (Department of Defense)

Included in the operation are 20 high-endurance Saildrone Voyager unmanned surface vehicles, equipped with a newly upgraded sensor suite, according to the press release. The vehicles are 10 meters long and can surveil thousands of square miles of water per day to look for smugglers.

The drones have already sailed the Persian Gulf under the Navy’s Hybrid Fleet Campaign and Project 33 and as part of Operation Windward Stack, operated by the 4th Fleet throughout 2024. They offer a 95% detection rate and are contractor owned and operated. This means that SailDrone operates the surveillance platform while the Defense Department purchases the data.

ARMY SAW SPIKE IN DEADLY AVIATION ACCIDENTS IN YEAR BEFORE DC PLANE CRASH DISASTER

“As land borders become more secure, traffickers will exploit maritime pathways more than ever. We’re honored to serve, providing autonomous around-the-clock maritime surveillance to help stop smugglers before they reach our shores,” said Tom Alexander, Saildrone VP of government relations.

Already, nearly 90% of cocaine is trafficked at sea, according to the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). Cartels look to exploit gaps in surveillance coverage that the new mission will look to plug with maritime drones.

Army Maj. Gen. Henry S. Dixon, left, Joint Task Force North commander, discusses southern border operations with Marines assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, near San Ysidro, Califorrnia, Jan. 28, 2025. (Department of Defense )

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Utilizing U.S. military might to disrupt the flow of human and drug trafficking at the southern border has been a top priority for Trump.

Upon taking office, the president immediately sent an additional 1,500 troops and additional assets to the border. Over the weekend, the U.S. secured an agreement with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who will send 10,000 Mexican troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in exchange for a one-month delay in Trump’s threat of 25% tariffs on goods flowing in from Mexico.

February 3, 2025
Auto groups react to Trump tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, China

Canadian Energy and Resource Minister Jonathan Wilkinson on the relationship with the U.S., and trade conversations between Prime Minister Trudeau and President Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump over the weekend announced planned tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China that could affect automakers.

Trump’s executive order sought to bring a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% levy on imports from China starting Tuesday.

Trump said on Monday he will pause tariffs on Mexico for one month after the country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, agreed to deploy 10,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will negotiate with high-level representatives of Mexico.

President Donald Trump said on Monday he will pause tariffs on Mexico for one month after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to deploy 10,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. (Emmanuel Rosas/ObturadorMX/Getty Images | Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images / Getty Images)

STOCKS SINK MONDAY AFTER TRUMP’S TARIFFS ON CANADA, MEXICO AND CHINA

What Automakers are Saying

Matt Blunt, the president of the American Automotive Policy Council whose members include Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, said Monday in a statement to FOX Business that the association “continue[s] to believe that vehicles and parts that meet the [United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s] USMCA’s stringent domestic and regional content requirements should be exempt from the tariff increase.”

“Our American automakers, who invested billions in the U.S. to meet these requirements, should not have their competitiveness undermined by tariffs that will raise the cost of building vehicles in the United States and stymie investment in the American workforce,” he added.

A General Motors worker is shown on the assembly line at the General Motors Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant on Feb. 21, 2020 in Lansing, Michigan. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation did not return FOX Business’ request for comment. Toyota declined to comment.

CHINA THREATENS TO RETALIATE AGAINST TRUMP TARIFFS

Autos Drive America counts a dozen international automakers among its members, including Honda, BMW, Hyundai, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Volkswagen and others.

Vehicles for sale at an AutoNation Honda dealership in Fremont, California, on June 24, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“The North American auto industry is highly integrated and the imposition of tariffs will be detrimental to American jobs, investment, and consumers,” Autos Drive America CEO Jennifer Safavian said Saturday in a press release, arguing they “undermine” the USMCA.

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“We urge all parties to reach a swift resolution in order to provide clarity and stability for the entire U.S. auto industry,” she said. “U.S. automakers would be better served by policies that reduce barriers for manufacturers, ease regulations that hinder production, and create greater export opportunities – policies that we look forward to working with President Trump to enact.”

February 3, 2025
Republican state AGs back Trump birthright citizenship order in court filing: ‘Taxpayers are on the hook’

FIRST ON FOX: Republican attorneys general from 18 states are pushing back against lawsuits filed by Democrat AGs and legal groups nationwide challenging the Trump administration’s executive order on birthright citizenship through an amicus brief filing set to be filed Monday, Fox News Digital has learned.

“If someone comes on a tourist visa to have an anchor baby, they are not under that original meaning of the United States Constitution,” Iowa AG Brenna Bird told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday. Bird is the lead AG leading an amicus brief filing in support of the executive order on Monday.

“Oftentimes, when this has happened. It’s the taxpayers that are paying for the health care through Medicaid or through hospitals, paying for care for someone to have a child, or the state child health insurance system as well,” Bird said. “Each state has a system that helps kids without insurance, and so the taxpayers are on the hook here for all the costs.”

TRUMP ADMIN HITS BACK AS ACLU LAUNCHES LAWSUIT ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: ‘READY TO FACE THEM’

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, alongside more than a dozen state AGs, filed an amicus brief supporting President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. (Getty Images)

Bird’s amicus brief comes in response to 18 Democrat-led states who launched their own lawsuit, claiming the order is unconstitutional and “unprecedented.”

“The President has no authority to rewrite or nullify a constitutional amendment or duly enacted statute. Nor is he empowered by any other source of law to limit who receives United States citizenship at birth,” the lawsuit reads.

Attorneys general from California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine and others signed on to the suit, along with the city and county of San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration the same day he signed the order “on behalf of organizations with members whose babies born on U.S. soil will be denied citizenship under the order.” The ACLU also claimed the order is unconstitutional and against congressional intent and Supreme Court precedent.

TRUMP’S HOUSE GOP ALLIES PUSH BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP BILL AFTER PROGRESSIVE FURY AT PRESIDENTIAL ORDER

ICE agents arrested seven illegal immigrants during a workforce operation raid. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

Bird’s brief – signed by Republican AGs from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming – focuses on several arguments.

The first part of the 13-page brief claims that President Donald Trump’s executive order complies with the “original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment.” The second portion claims Trump’s order “reduces harm to the states.”

The brief states that the “Plaintiffs’ erroneous Citizenship Clause interpretation will continue the powerful incentive for citizens of foreign countries to give birth on American soil, even if they must illegally enter this country to do so.”

“The lure of American citizenship motivates pregnant women to travel to America to give birth,” the brief reads. “Some women, desperate to give birth in the United States, cross the border the day they deliver their baby.”

A border hospital administrator described witnessing pregnant women arriving at the hospital in active labor, still wet and shivering from crossing the river, determined to give birth in the U.S., the brief, which will be filed in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, says.

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP EXECUTIVE ORDER FACES LEGAL CHALLENGES FROM 22 STATES

President Donald Trump, right, signs executive orders on stage at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Trump’s order, titled the “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship” states that “the privilege of United States citizenship does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States” when the individual’s parents are illegal immigrants living in the U.S. or if their presence is lawful but temporary. It was among the first orders he signed after taking office in early January.

“President Trump is restoring the meaning and value of American citizenship, and also making sure that if someone is breaking the law, they won’t be rewarded for that by getting citizenship,” Bird said. “And so it’s following the Constitution and making sure that we’re upholding our immigration laws.”

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Fox News Digital’s Haley-Chi-Sing contributed to this report.

Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.

February 3, 2025
Zelenskyy warns peace talks without Ukraine ‘dangerous’ after Trump claims meetings with Russia ‘going well’

Excluding Ukraine from U.S.-led talks involving the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kyiv’s eastern front would set a “dangerous” precedent to dictators across the globe, warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“If there will be direct talks between America and Russia without Ukraine, it is very dangerous, I think,” Zelenskyy said in a Saturday interview with the Associated Press. “They may have their own relations, but talking about Ukraine without us – it is dangerous for everyone.”

Zelenskyy argued that doing so would validate Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion and “show that he was right” because he received “impunity” and “compromise.”

“This will mean that anyone can act like this. And this will be a signal to other leaders of the big countries who think about [doing]… something similar,” he said.

ZELENSKYY PRAISES TRUMP FOR ‘JUST AND FAIR’ RHETORIC TOWARD RUSSIA: ‘EXACTLY WHAT PUTIN IS AFRAID OF’

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press conference at the Ukraine peace summit in Obbürgen, Switzerland, on June 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

The Ukrainian president’s comments came before President Donald Trump on Sunday suggested that his administration had already begun talks with Moscow and claimed they were “going pretty well.”

“We have meetings and talks scheduled with various parties, including Ukraine and Russia. And I think those discussions are actually going pretty well,” he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

On Friday, Trump refused to say whether he had spoken directly with Putin and wouldn’t detail who in his administration had begun talks with Moscow, though he insisted the two sides were “already talking” and had engaged in “very serious” discussions.

Speaking with Fox News on Friday, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg said, “Everybody is pulling together” on ending the three-year-long war in Ukraine.

“It’s important because we realize it is actually in our national security interest to get this war resolved,” Kellogg said. “When you look at the money the United States has provided, which is over $174 billion, when you look at the alliance that has now formed with Russia, with North Korea, with China and Iran – that wasn’t there before.”

Ukrainian infantrymen with the 28th Brigade take cover along the frontline on March 5, 2023, outside of Bakhmut, Ukraine. (John Moore/Getty Images)

TRUMP SAYS UKRAINE’S ZELENSKYY IS READY TO NEGOTIATE A DEAL TO END WAR WITH RUSSIA

Despite the U.S. pledge to send Ukraine more than $175 billion worth of military aid, Zelenskyy said over the weekend that Ukraine hasn’t received anywhere near this much support, telling the Associated Press that in terms of military aid, Kyiv has only received some $75 billion worth.

It remains unclear where the remainder $100 billion in military support has gone, and the White House did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s questions on the matter.

Kellogg also told Fox News that Trump “will lead” the negotiations and said, “I think most people should be very comfortable in the fact that he knows exactly what he’s doing. He knows where to apply pressure, where not to apply pressure. But more importantly, that he will create leverage, leverage both with Ukrainians and the Russians.”

The special envoy didn’t specify how Trump will apply this pressure to both Moscow and Kyiv, though Putin and Zelenskyy have made clear that negotiating on Ukraine joining the NATO alliance is a non-starter.

Zelenskyy argued Trump could get Putin to the negotiating table by threatening to increase sanctions on Russia’s energy and banking systems, along with continued military aid to Ukraine.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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The Ukrainian president also argued that Trump should back Ukraine’s push to join the NATO security alliance as it would be the “cheapest” option for Ukraine’s allies.

Ukraine’s admittance into the NATO alliance would likely protect Kyiv against the threat of another Russian invasion, as it would grant the country security guarantees under Article Five, which says an attack on one nation “shall be considered an attack against them all.”

However, Putin has long threatened nuclear escalation should Ukraine be granted admittance to the international security alliance.

Caitlin McFall is a Reporter at Fox News Digital covering Politics, U.S. and World news.

February 3, 2025
Dems claim Trump tariff could ‘drive up’ costs despite deflecting blame from Biden’s inflation

Democratic lawmakers are claiming that President Donald Trump’s impending tax on international goods will raise costs, despite spending years deflecting blame for high prices from the Biden administration.

Trump signed an executive order Saturday night to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada and a 10% tax on all imports from China, fulfilling a promise he made during his 2024 presidential campaign as a way to circumvent drug trafficking into the U.S.

The tariffs on Canada and China are set to go into effect at midnight, but Trump announced on Monday that he would pause the tariff on Mexico for one month after discussions with President Claudia Sheinbaum. However, as the tariffs loom, Democrats are claiming they could drive up bills for everyday Americans, despite supporting several tax hikes under the Biden administration.

“This is a terrible idea,” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said in a statement. “Folks are already struggling to get ahead because of high prices, and now President Trump is about to drive up grocery and gas prices while raising costs on Arizona businesses.”

TRUMP DEFENDS TARIFFS, ACCUSES CANADA OF BEING ‘VERY ABUSIVE OF THE UNITED STATES’: VIDEO

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized President Donald Trump’s order to tariff Mexico, Canada and China. (J. Scott Applewhite)

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., claimed Trump’s tariffs “could cost a typical family $1,200 per year,” while Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said that “President Trump owns the economic and national security fallout.”

TRUMP’S TARIFFS ON MEXICO, CANADA ARE THE ‘BEGINNING OF A NEGOTIATION,’ SAYS KEVIN O’LEARY

Additionally, Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona cosigned a letter with 42 lawmakers calling on Trump to “immediately” rescind the 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

“Trump’s tariffs on Canada will do nothing but hurt American workers and auto manufacturers. He’s giving our overseas competitors a leg up,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., claimed in a reaction to the impending tax.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said that “President Trump owns the economic and national security fallout.” (Kevin Dietsch)

“It would be nice if Donald Trump could start focusing on getting the prices down instead of making them go up,” wrote Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “I am concerned these new tariffs will further drive up costs for American consumers. We should be focused on going hard against competitors who rig the game, like China, rather than attacking our allies.”

While Democrats are uniting to criticize Trump’s tariffs, members of the party did not widely push back on tax increases implemented by former President Joe Biden.

During his administration, Democrats backed Biden’s proposals for a range of tax increases, including hikes on small businesses, corporations, capital gains and dividends, personal income, energy and a second estate tax.

President Donald Trump said that Canada has been “abusive” toward the U.S. in terms of trade. (Getty Images)

When gas prices doubled under Biden, according to data from the Energy Information Administration, Schumer, then-Senate majority leader, claimed that it was oil companies “gouging us at the pump” who were to blame.

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Despite the backlash, Trump has defended his decision to authorize the tariffs, telling reporters on Sunday night that Canada has been “abusive” toward the U.S. in terms of trade.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

February 3, 2025
Trump names Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as acting CFPB director

Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., weighs in on Trumps tax cuts amid Scott Bessents confirmation hearing and Congress grappling with a strategy for the reconciliation bill.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the agency announced on Monday.

“I look forward to working with the CFPB to advance President Trump’s agenda to lower costs for the American people and accelerate economic growth,” Bessent said.

The CFPB’s announcement noted that President Donald Trump designated Bessent as the agency’s acting director on Friday. Former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra wrote in a letter published Saturday that he was no longer serving as the agency’s director.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

February 3, 2025
Trump admin ends deportation protections for massive number of Venezuelans amid illegal immigration crackdown

The Trump administration is ending a deportation shield for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the U.S., opening the door to them being deported — just as President Donald Trump has secured an agreement with the socialist country to take back its nationals.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to Fox News Digital that more than 300,000 nationals protected by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in 2023 are having their statuses revoked. The New York Times, which first reported details of the move, reported that they will lose temporary status 60 days after the government first publishes the notice.

TPS grants protection from deportation and allows work permits for nationals living in the U.S. from countries deemed unsafe for them to be returned. Then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced extensions for TPS for Venezuela, as well as El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine, for an additional 18 months last year.

COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT URGES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN US TO RETURN HOME DAYS AFTER DIPLOMATIC SPAT

Army soldiers patrol the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, on Jan. 24, 2025. President Donald Trump ordered 1,500 more military personnel to the border with Mexico as part of a flurry of steps to tackle immigration, his spokeswoman said on Jan. 22. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week announced that the extension was being revoked, but this move would prematurely end the status altogether.

Republicans have long been skeptical of the program, arguing that it has been used too broadly, with more than 17 countries designated under the Biden administration. The first Trump administration cut down on the use of TPS and has indicated it intends to do the same in the second administration.

‘WE STOPPED THAT’: NOEM CANCELS BIDEN ADMIN’S 11TH HOUR DEPORTATION SHIELD FOR VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House border czar Tom Homan speak with reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Venezuelans were one of the top nationalities coming into the U.S. at the height of the 2021-2024 border crisis, with many also coming in through a separate parole policy for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans — a program now ended by the Trump administration.

On Saturday, Trump said that an agreement had been made with Venezuela to take back its illegal immigrants. Venezuela had started taking back illegal immigrants in 2023 but stopped in early 2024.

“…Venezuela has agreed to receive, back into their Country, all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the U.S., including gang members of Tren de Aragua,” Trump said on Truth Social.

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“Venezuela has further agreed to supply the transportation back. We are in the process of removing record numbers of illegal aliens from all Countries, and all Countries have agreed to accept these illegal aliens back.”

The moves come amid a flurry of efforts by the Trump administration to secure the border and significantly ramp up the numbers of deportations and removals from the U.S. The administration has ended parole programs, limited the use of asylum and deployed the military to the southern border.

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Meanwhile, Noem visited the southern border on Sunday, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently on a tour of Latin America. Defense Department Secretary Pete Hegseth is heading to the southern border on Monday.

Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.

He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.

February 3, 2025
‘This is about fentanyl’: Tariffs are crucial to combating ‘drug war,’ Trump and Cabinet officials say

The Trump administration is billing the new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as critical to preventing fentanyl and other drugs from pouring into the U.S. border, rather than a step in an international trade war.

President Donald Trump is imposing a 25% tariff on all goods entering the United States from Mexico and Canada; a 10% tariff on Canadian energy; and a 10% tariff on all goods entering the U.S. from China. Those tariffs are set to go into effect Tuesday at midnight.

TRUMP DEFENDS TARIFFS, ACCUSES CANADA OF BEING ‘VERY ABUSIVE OF THE UNITED STATES’

The president spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Monday morning, he said, and is expected to speak to him again at 3 p.m. ET on Monday.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“Canada doesn’t even allow U.S. Banks to open or do business there,” Trump posted on his Truth Social Monday. “What’s that all about? Many such things, but it’s also a DRUG WAR, and hundreds of thousands of people have died in the U.S. from drugs pouring through the Borders of Mexico and Canada.”

The president also spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Monday morning – a conversation that led to Trump delaying the imposition of tariffs on Mexico for one month.

“It was a very friendly conversation wherein she agreed to immediately supply 10,000 Mexican Soldiers on the Border separating Mexico and the United States,” Trump posted on his Truth Social. “These soldiers will be specifically designated to stop the flow of fentanyl, and illegal migrants into our Country.”

“We further agreed to immediately pause the anticipated tariffs for a one month period during which we will have negotiations headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and high-level Representatives of Mexico,” Trump wrote. “I look forward to participating in those negotiations, with President Sheinbaum, as we attempt to achieve a ‘deal’ between our two Countries.”

‘OVERDOSE EPIDEMIC’: BIPARTISAN SENATORS TARGET FENTANYL CLASSIFICATION AS LAPSE APPROACHES

On Sunday, Vice President JD Vance echoed a similar sentiment regarding drugs, posting on X that Mexico “sends tons of fentanyl into our country. Canada has seen a massive increase in fentanyl trafficking across its border.”

“There are three ways of stopping this,” Vance wrote. “The first is ask nicely, which we’ve done. It’s gone no where.”

He added: “Now we’re onto the consequences phase.”

And Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Monday said the imposition of tariffs “isn’t a trade war with Canada, or Mexico or China.”

TRUMP IMPOSES TARIFFS ON IMPORTS FROM CANADA, MEXICO AND CHINA: ‘NATIONAL EMERGENCY’

“This is about fentanyl,” Burgum said on “Fox & Friends.” “We’ve had a mass invasion of our country. We’ve been taking mass casualties. We lose almost 300 people a day to overdose deaths.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida in November 2024 to discuss topics like the economy, illegal immigration and tariffs. (Justin Trudeau X)

Burgum added: “President Trump wants to end this.”

The president authorized the tariffs in an executive order on Saturday. Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 25% additional tariff will be levied on imports from Canada and Mexico, with a 10% tariff on imports from China.

In the executive order, Trump said the tariffs stem from an “extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, [that] constitutes a national emergency.”

The tariffs have invited international criticism from leaders and citizens alike in Canada and Mexico. During his exchange with reporters on Sunday evening, Trump accused Canada of being “abusive” toward the U.S. in terms of trade.

CANADA, MEXICO ANNOUNCE RETALIATORY TARIFFS ON US IMPORTS IN RESPONSE TO TRUMP’S TARIFFS ON AMERICAN NEIGHBORS

“Canada has been very abusive of the United States for many years. They don’t allow our banks,” Trump said. “And you know that Canada does not allow banks to go in, if you think about it. That’s pretty amazing. If we have a U.S. bank, they don’t allow them to go in.”

“Canada has been very tough for oil on energy. They don’t allow our farm products in, essentially. They don’t allow a lot of things in. And we allow everything to come in as being a one-way street.”

Fentanyl seized in Nogales, Arizona. Border agents and officers seized more than 1,900 pounds of the illicit drug in October 2022. (Customs and Border Patrol)

Trump also said that the U.S. subsidizes Canada “by the tune of about $200 billion a year.”

“And for what? What do we get out of it? We don’t get anything out of it,” he added. “I love the people of Canada. I disagree with the leadership of Canada and something is going to happen there.”

But in a statement on Saturday, Sheinbaum said her country “categorically reject[s] the White House’s slander against the Mexican government of having alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intention of intervention in our territory.”

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“Mexico not only does not want fentanyl to reach the United States, but anywhere,” the statement read. “Therefore, if the United States wants to combat criminal groups that traffic drugs and generate violence, we must work together in an integrated manner, but always under the principles of shared responsibility, mutual trust, collaboration and, above all, respect for sovereignty, which is not negotiable.”

Canada’s Trudeau slighted the U.S. by encouraging Canadians to “buy Canada,” and announcing his own set of tariffs on $20 billion “of goods imported from the United States,” including produce, meats and cheeses.

“Now is the time to choose products made right here in Canada,” Trudeau wrote on X. “Check the labels. Let’s do our part. Wherever we can, choose Canada.”

Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.

February 3, 2025